Government Proposes Essential Product Subsidy Extension to 2029
The proposed 2027 Finance Law includes provisions to extend fiscal measures supporting the prices of essential consumer products for an additional three years, until December 31, 2029. This initiative is designed to preserve the purchasing power of citizens amidst ongoing efforts to ensure economic stability. Products targeted by these extended measures include various meats, edible oils, coffee, dried vegetables, rice, and eggs.
This extension builds upon temporary measures implemented between 2023 and 2026, which involved adjustments to customs duties and tax exemptions. The government explains that the proposal aims to guarantee market supply for widely consumed food items while controlling prices and building security stocks. Simultaneously, these actions are intended to complement national strategies focused on developing local production capabilities.
The extension of these supportive provisions encompasses specific articles from previous finance laws. For instance, reduced customs duties on live cattle and sheep for slaughter, fresh chilled vacuum-packed beef and lamb, and frozen white meats will continue. Similarly, the 2027 Finance Law proposes prolonging exemptions from VAT and the internal consumption tax for green coffee imports, alongside VAT exemptions for imports and sales of rice, various pulses, fresh fruits and vegetables, consumption eggs, and locally produced chicken and turkey. Measures concerning edible oils, including VAT exemptions for crude oil and oilseed cakes from local processing, will also be maintained, with a requirement for importers and processors of crude soybean oil to commence domestic production or acquisition by the end of 2029.
